Posted on 12/01/2003 8:52:47 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
(Waterford-WTNH, Nov. 30, 2003 Updated 9:55 PM) _ State police are investigating a deadly car fire that happened near a shopping mall Sunday.
Authorities were called to an area behind the Target store at the Crystal Mall around 4:30 p.m. when someone reported what they thought was a brush fire.
"They found a vehicle on fire," Deputy Chief Max Thiel said. "There is an individual in the car."
Trooper One flew over the Crystal Mall in Waterford while State Police Major Crimes Squad set up a perimeter behind Target. Stunned shoppers came out of the stores and found crime scene tape and police cruisers.
"I was shopping over at Crossroads and I saw the helicopter with the spot lights and had to see what is going," said Dave Smith of Montville.
"They said there was a body in the car down there."
"Just concerned about who was in there because we are a small community and we hope it's no one we know," said Trish Capozza of Waterford.
Police say right now they have more questions than answers. Detectives in Waterford aren't taking any chances with the bizarre death and are treating it like a homicide investigation.
"The Waterford Police Department is there, the state's attorney is there, and Major Crimes is there to assist in the crime scene to determine exactly what happened," said Deputy Chief Max Thiel, Waterford Police.
The biggest problem is the terrain. The crime scene is way back in the woods down a steep ravine. State Police had to bring in their helicopter Trooper 1 and a K-9 unit to search for any possible suspects in the woods.
"It's going to take us most of the night to process the scene and determine what happened," Thiel said.
Trooper 1 will be in the air through out the night to light up the crime seen for detectives as well spot for potential suspects.
This is the second burned body in a car in that area in the past two weeks. The body of a Navy sonar technician from Iowa was found in a car at the submarine base in Groton November 21st.
11:15 am EST April 1, 2004
FRANCONIA, Va. -- Wednesday night, the body of an unidentified person was found after Fairfax County firefighters extinguished a car fire in Franconia, Va.
Police said firefighters were called to the Fleet Industrial Park in the 6500 block of Fleet Drive shortly before midnight Wednesday.
When they arrived, firefighters said they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames in a parking lot next to a grassy area.
Authorities said firefighters discovered a man's body in the front seat of the car after the fire was put out.
Police said they know who the owner of the car is, and now they're working to identify the man.
Fairfax County Police detectives and Fairfax County Fire Marshals are investigating.
Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police are asking for your help after firefighters made a shocking discovery overnight. Firefighters were putting out a car fire in the 700 block of Hopewell Street in West Savannah when they found the burnt remains of a Savannah man inside.Police believe someone shot 57 year old Harry Blunt, then torched his car. His body was found inside his 1992 Buick station wagon around three o'clock Saturday morning.
If you have any information about what happened, call the Savannah Chatham Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division at 651-6728 or CrimeStoppers at 234-2020.
Man Shot, Pulled From Burning Car
Source Of Victim's Wounds Not KnownCINCINNATI -- A local man was found shot to death inside a burning car Sunday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to the corner of East 67th Street and Lexington Avenue in Carthage at about 2 p.m. for a report of a car smoking badly with someone trapped inside, WLWT Eyewitness News 5's Raegan Butler reported.
When the victim was pulled from the car, police discovered that he had been shot at least once, Butler reported.
Police have not determined where the man was shot or if he shot himself.
April 21, 2004
Associated PressAn autopsy has been ordered on a body found in a burning car southeast of Edinburg.
Firefighters last night responded to the blaze, then discovered a burned body in the rear seat.
Authorities say the body was so burned they're not sure if the victim was male or female.
The case is being treated as a homicide.
By ERIC GARZA
The Monitor
EDINBURG — The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a possible homicide after firefighters found a body in a burning car.--snip
When they arrived they found a maroon four-door Impala engulfed in flames. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they discovered human remains in the car.
Gus Acosta, public information officer for the sheriff’s department, said investigators were not able to tell whether the body was male or female due to the extent of the burns.
He said investigators believe there was foul play involved because of where the car was found and the position of the body inside.
"We’re treating this as a homicide because of the way the body was found," Acosta said. He said he couldn’t describe the position or location of the body in the car, citing that it was part of the ongoing investigation and could be detrimental to the case.
The torched vehicle was one of two cases reported Tuesday of a car on fire with a person inside.
Earlier, sheriff’s investigators responded to a similar situation in Palmview.
Residents called the Palmview Fire Department when they saw a Land Rover on fire near a field south of Business 83 along Greene Road. When firefighters arrived to extinguish the fire, they found a man still alive outside the SUV. The man currently is in critical condition at Brooks Medical Center in San Antonio. Investigators do not yet know the man’s identity or the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Acosta said investigators do not believe there is any correlation between the two incidents.
The department urges anyone with information on the case to call the Hidalgo County Crime Stoppers at (956) 668-8477.
(Lakeland-AP) -- Authorities in Lakeland are trying to determine circumstances behind the death of a 19-year-old man found dead in the trunk of his burning car.The body of Ted Destin was found yesterday in the trunk of his Honda Accord. The car was parked in the driveway of his home.
Police aren't sure if Destin was placed in the trunk by someone else or if he committed suicide. An autopsy is scheduled today, but officials say the body had NO visible signs of trauma. They also say a container of gasoline was found near the body.
Authorities say Destin appears to have died from smoke inhalation in the confined space of the trunk.
For the Record - Public safety news from Tribune staff and wire reportsFarmington police Wednesday evening were investigating the circumstances surrounding a body found in a burning car near the mouth of Farmington Canyon. Police responded to the scene at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Dispatchers say the victim's death is being investigated as a suicide.
Pine Bluff, Ark. — The body of a man was found in a burning car at Graceland Cemetery on Sunday, where he and his wife had gone to visit his mother-in-law's grave, police said. Firefighters received a call to the cemetery at 4:08 p.m., found the car on fire, put out the blaze and recovered the body, said Sgt. Robert D. Rawlinson, a spokesman for the Pine Bluff Police Department.
R.V. Davis, 78, was pronounced dead at 5:02 p.m. by the Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Chad Kelly.
Davis' wife, Joy Davis, told investigators she and her husband went to the cemetery to visit her mother's grave. She said she was at the grave when she heard her husband hollering. She returned to the car and found it on fire, but neither she nor a bystander could get her husband out. She told police her husband was on fire.
Joy Davis, who is elderly andfrail, said her husband had stayed in the car because he was in poor health and couldn't get out without assistance.
Police did not know what caused the fire.
Police are investigating the murder of a man found shot to death in a burning car early Wednesday in the 500 block of North 24th Street in East St. Louis. c St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone identified the victim as Terrance Billops, 35, of Washington Park. Billops was found about 2 a.m., slumped in a burning 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva.
Stone said Billops was pronounced dead at the scene, but when his body was examined at Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis it was discovered he had been shot in the head.
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